Simple pleasures

Last Saturday the sun decided to come out to play. At least it did around mid-morning. Unfortunately my hair needs a bit of encouragement to stay blond these days so I was stuck at the hair dresser. By the time I was done it was around two in the afternoon, but the sun was still out so I was happy. My tour guide was as happy as I was to see the sun, but had no idea where to go to enjoy it. We'd been to all the obvious places around the city and he wanted to take me somewhere new. After poking around the net he realized I hadn't been to Gas Works park yet so off we went.

Gasworks used to be a refinery plant and is now a great park. Its the kind of park that would make my nephew's head explode with the sheer number of things to climb. I wish I'd had a kite with me to fly out over the lake, and that the sun had stayed out. Sadly by the time we got to the park it had disappeared again leaving me with a very stubborn tour guide and a bright red nose. In spite of that I had fun. My favorite part was the giant sundial on top of the hill. You have to stand on today's date and by using the chart engraved next to it you can tell the time fairly accurately. Or you can when the sun is out and casting shadows.

After a full tour of the park we went to Chinook Beach Park. To my amusement the term "beach" is used very liberally here. Its is a cute park with hiking trials we chose not to explore (at least this time) and a rocky shore with a great view of the setting sun. We stayed there for a bit and I found out that even in the height of summer people catch hypothermia swimming there in less than an hour. So it looks like the only time I'll be wading in will be on a visit home.

After my tours we went to this great pizza place that does only more traditional Italian style pizza. Before our pizza showed up this guy that works for the restaurant came over to our table and did card tricks. Even though my sister used to do them all the time, and showed me how some are done, I'm still easily impressed by them.

For one of them he had us pick out a card and showed it to us, then had my tour guide sign the front of it. That card was shuffled back into the deck. Then he drew a stick figure which was supposed to be his assistant on the back of a random card. He told me to add to it so I drew hair that stuck straight up on top of his head, kinda like Bart Simpson. Through magic the assistant jumped from the back of one card to another until he stopped at the card my guide had signed. He then gave us the card and he wandered off to entertain someone else. I mistakenly thought the tricks were over when I put the card in my guide's shirt pocket, but somehow it managed to appear in my coat pocket when I got home later that night.

I must pause now to tell you about something that by simply existing makes the world a better place. It the Italian gelato that's served for dessert there. The chocolate gelato was absolutely incredible. It was served with a shot of espresso of impressive quality, even by Seattle standards. I very happily lingered over it, and I'm currently trying to figure how to get back there.

Other than that things have been quiet here. Its getting colder and I'm spending more time cuddled up indoors. Fireplaces seem to be as standard issue up here as air conditioners were in Sacramento, and I'm thoroughly enjoying this. Still, the sun is supposed to be out for most of the weekend and I'm looking forward to it. I'm told there's another great park I have to check out, even if it is almost winter.

Starting to feel pretty

All my life my dad has made funny faces, and its only natural that as I kid I would try to mimic him. He looks like Abe Lincoln normally, so when he wiggles his eyebrows or scrunches up his nose kids tend to laugh. I can't begin to count the times he's done things like that to the amusement of any child in close vicinity. Its part of what made him a fun dad when I was a kid, and what makes him a fun grandpa now.
Before I go on I have to point out that I don't particularly like my nose. It is too big and is often red as a result of the sun in the summer, and the cold in the winter. Drawing attention to it wouldn't seem logical, but I don't obsess over my nose so its not a big deal. I've learned to put make up on so that I can feel that I look better, and to go on with life. Scrunching my nose like a rabbit and all.
Now that I am an adult I have the habit of doing a "rabbit nose" in an attempt to amuse someone. Its not really something I think about. To me its just another facial expression. So imagine my surprise when my boyfriend noticed me doing this, and pointed out that he thought it was cute. Before I could react he quickly kissed the tip of my nose. It startled me so much that I laughed. My nose cute? Never thought I'd hear that one.
Well, this has become somewhat of a thing between us. If I happen to do the "rabbit nose" when he's close he'll kiss the tip of my nose. Sometimes he'll kiss my nose just to startle me. Its not a big thing, but I laugh every time.

Fake it 'till you make it

I've learned that if you pretend to know what you're doing few will question it. I've also learned to speak with confidence when at work, no matter the situation. This week alone both have gotten me out of trouble at least three times. It helps that I actually had answers to my boss' questions, and that I was in the process of fixing what people were complaining about. So when a branch manager called and asked questions about package quantities I confidently answered his questions without thinking. At one point after asserting something I offered to go and double check on it for him. He responded that it wasn't necessary and that he trusted me. That's when I blew my cover by laughing. As short lived as it was, it was nice to have someone treat me like a knowledgeable source again. Hopefully next time I won't blow my cover.

"This way."
"You don't really know, do you ?"
"What ?"
"I mean, you are acting like you know exactly which way to go, but you are only guessing. Do you do this all the time ?"
"No, but there ... are times when it is necessary for a captain to give the appearance of confidence." -- Picard and Beverly in ST:TNG "Attached"

I believe you have my stapler

When I interviewed for my current job I was told that I had a huge mess to clean up. They weren't kidding. I buy 130 lines of product, and so far I've managed to clean up two. Not a great ratio, and the only reason I've gotten that far is that I've conned someone else into doing it. You could be negative and call this cheating. I choose to be positive and call this delegating.

The coworker in question is this great old Jewish guy that thinks the only thing wrong with me is that I'm not Jewish. What made us friends was when I overheard him asking "you know what WC Fields said, right?" Without missing a beat I piped up with "kid can't hold his liquor." He gave me a funny look so I asked him if he meant the one about parboiling children. Then he gave me a curious look and said that he had forgotten what he was talking about. Since then he's been asking me random trivia questions just to see what I know. I find it fairly entertaining. My dad taught us kids tons of trivia growing up and its coming in really handy. So is the fact that I love old movies and read voraciously. Every time I get something right my coworker shakes his head asks "where did you go wrong?"

Other than that work has been incredibly frustrating. I know it takes about six months to get into the groove of a new job, but I'm impatient. It doesn't help that at my last job I was the "it" girl. Granted I worked there for about four years so I had lots of time to learn a ton of stuff. Yes, at the beginning of that job I was just as frustrated and had to face a learning curve. Yes, at least this time I know something about buying and have become good at it. That doesn't change the fact that I constantly feel overwhelmed in my position as "new girl."

Speakng of, the girl who was supposed to train me was less than effective. She went through everything at break-neck speed so right now I'm having to teach myself a great deal. My other coworkers (the only people around my age in the office) aren't seated near me so I barely interact with them. I keep trying to talk to them, but I don't get much of a response. Today I was grudgingly invited to lunch and I accepted hoping to break the ice a bit more. Not sure if it worked or not but it was worth a shot. I don't know if their reserve is a reaction to my personality, the fact that the pricing manager (who no one likes for good reason) seems buddy buddy with me, my obvious friendship with the old Jewish guy, or the fact that my position has had a lot of turn over.

Just to make matters more interesting I found out that the one guy near my age that I sit next to is the nephew of the owner. Oh, and his dad is a top level executive. While I've dealt with family related to the company owner before this is a very different scenario. To put it bluntly, he sucks as a buyer. Worse, he is in my way. In order to get my monstrosity of a mess cleaned up I have to get him to upload information into our computer system. He wants every idy bity detail in order and set up in a specific way on a spreadsheet. Four years of buying experience tells me that isn't ever going to happen. Due to his connections I can't simply do what I would normally do: bulldoze over him. I have to be politic, sweet talk the Jewish guy into doing the dirty work for now, and learn how to do the idiots job as well as mine. Without showing the nephew up of course. It has been made clear that we must avoid junior loosing face at all costs.

Ug. I really don't like being told I can't simply dismiss idiots from existing in my universe. Growing up simply sucks sometimes.

Semi-charmed kind of life

Today it was absolutely beautiful outside. I was supposed to get up at the crack of dawn to go get a Washington state license, but I slept through my alarm. By the time I woke up I knew that there was bound to be a long line, and that it was too beautiful a day to waste at the DMV. So instead I called up the one gal pal I have here and made plans to enjoy the day.
Before I met up with her I stopped by the downtown library. On my way there I drove down this street that has what should have been a fantastic view of the Sound. Instead I got to see lots of trees with gorgeous colors, and a wall of fog. It was absolutely beautiful and really weird. The trees were gold and rust and red. What was weird was that the fog seemed to be unable to pass this magical barrier as it seemed to stop the second it hit shore.
After the library I drove to my favorite part of town- Ballard. I parked my car at my friend’s house and we proceeded to walk around downtown Ballard. We went to a couple thrift stores and a couple consignment stores. I was looking for inspiration for a Halloween costume, she was looking for a new table. It seemed like everyone was out enjoying the rare bit of perfect weather. The sun was shining, the sky was this great shade of blue, the leaves on all the trees were turning, and the air had just a slight chill to it. I had a blast just walking around and people watching.
The best part of the day was when I was driving home across one of the bridges. I could see Mt Rainier in the distance and the sun sparkling off of the Sound. It was so beautiful all I could think was “wow, I get to live here.” Clearly my love affair with this city is still in the honeymoon phase. As happy as I am I think I’m just going to go with it.

I'll keep you locked in my head

I went to the Seattle Art Museum on Saturday, which houses mostly modern work. It was nice, but for the most part I don't enjoy modern art. There have been a rare few pieces that I have loved, but what I saw at the SAM just didn't do it for me. The top floor was more my style with classical pieces, and some intricately painted china.
I prefer the Impressionists, specifically Monet's waterlilies. I know that's not unique, but I still love them. My all time favorite is on display in a small hard to find museum in Paris. Part of the reason I love them so much is that I got to go to Monet's garden in Giverney, which is where the series was painted. It was such a surreal moment to turn around a corner in the garden and feel as though I were inside a painting. I hope I never forget it.
A large chunk of Sunday was spent doing laundry and looking up books on the internet. I was extremely successful with the former, but not the latter activity. I've found a number of websites that I can use to figure out titles from what sketchy information I remember about various books. Until now, they've been extermly helful. This weekend all I could seem to find are book series that take place before and after the series that I'm searching for.
What really frustrated me is that I know all it would take in the past is a phone call to the friend that originally loaned the books to me. Only problem is the friend is no longer on the other end of the line, and its times like this that I miss her. The good news is there is a solution of sorts. An aquaintence of mine is a fan of the overall series and can likely point me in the right direction. Too bad it won't cure missing my friend.

Goo Goo G'joob

If you have never been to soap box races you are really missing out. This Saturday Red Bull sponsored races in the Fremont district. There was everything from the rolling bridge troll to a ferry pulling the space needle. My favorite was the A-team mostly due to the fact that they had a white Mr. T. Among the others were a giant toilet bowl with a movable seat, and a giant sushi roll. We had a lot of fun in spite of the off and on rain, even though there weren't that many crashes (my favorite part).
After the races I got to see the first part of the Battlestar Galactica mini series. It was awesome. There is this one character that may or may not be a hallucination. Either way she is completely insane and absolutely convinced that this egomaniac will/does love her. He is the only one that can see her and it gets pretty entertaining. Especially when she decides to get frisky and someone walks in on him. Outside of that the story is great and the special effects are impressive.
On Sunday I went with a friend to this great local place called The Dish Cafe. There isn't a lot to the menu, but everyone I met agrees there is nothing bad on it. The fabulous garden omelet came with a scone that was wonderful. We sat and talked for a bit and it was fun to feel like a local. Once we were done stuffing ourselves we went to see Across the Universe. Very trippy movie. At one point the main characters dropped acid to a Beattle's song "I am the Walrus" (the title of this blog is from a line in it).
All in all it was a fun weekend, even with the stereotypical Seattle weather finally deciding to show up.